From Shakespeare to Sondheim, "Angels in America" to "In the Heights," we stage productions that challenge our performers, thrill audiences and showcase the brilliance of our faculty, and we have the national honors to prove it.

The Theatre Program at Saint Mary’s provides conservatory-caliber training in a uniquely student-centered Liberal Arts setting. We believe that the theatre is a force that can wake us up and spark ethical action in the world. Through theatre training - whether as actors, directors, designers, playwrights, technicians, or stage managers – we can find greater freedom, generosity, and courage, in our creative work and in our relationships with others.

The Saint Mary’s Theatre Program is a close-knit community, fostering a collaborative (not competitive) environment; yet we are located within striking distance of the Bay Area’s vibrant performance scene. Thus we offer the best of both worlds: individualized attention and mentoring, alongside unique opportunities to engage with working professionals. Our students are challenged, and inspired, by an array of master classes, guest speakers, theatre-going excursions, internships, and more.

The Theatre Program offers two separate degree tracks:

Our curriculum integrates practical and technical coursework with performance and production opportunities, and with the study of theatre history, theory, and dramatic literature, producing deeper thinkers and more dynamic theatre-makers.

Auditions

No audition is required to major or minor in Theatre at Saint Mary’s College. Auditions are required for most productions.

The Saint Mary’s Theatre Program is proud to announce our Spring 2017 mainstage show: Lyn-Manuel Miranda's powerhouse musical "In the Heights." We will hold general auditions on Monday November 21st, 5:00-9:00 pm and callbacks on Monday November 28th, 5:00­-10:00 pm. Audition signups, info about the roles and instructions for preparing your audition available at the LeFevre Theatre box office starting Monday Nov. 7th. Questions? Contact Rebecca Engle at [email protected]

The Saint Mary’s Theatre Program practices culturally inclusive casting. We welcome first­-years, transfers and beginners. All roles are open.

Video Clips

Meet our guest artists who will be teaching, growing, and working with us this year!

Susannah Martin

An award-winning director, teacher, and theatre maker, Susannah has directed for Shotgun Players (where she is also a company member), TheatreFIRST, Aurora Theatre Company, Town Hall Theatre Company, Porchlight Theatre Company, Sonoma County Rep, Boxcar Theatre, and Mugwumpin, among others. She has taught for the California Shakespeare Theater for the past ten years and directed several Shakespeare productions for their 5-week summer conservatory. Susannah has also taught for UC Davis, Los Medanos College, Marin Theatre Company, and a variety of high schools throughout San Francisco and the East Bay. Susannah received her BFA from NYU and her MFA from UC Davis. Director Susannah Martin in rehearsal for Care of Trees at Shotgun Players (Berkeley) with actor Patrick Russell.

Dave Maier

Dave Maier is a Senior Fight Director and Full Instructor with Dueling Arts International. He has over two hundred professional fight direction credits and has received several awards including five SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Awards and a Falstaff Award. He is the resident fight director with San Francisco Opera and California Shakespeare Theatre. His work has been seen at ACT, Berkeley Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, SF Playhouse, Berkeley Playhouse, Magic Theatre, Impact Theatre and Shotgun Players, among others. He has taught classes and workshops for St. Mary’s College of California, UC Santa Cruz, Stanford University, Cal State East Bay, Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, and Cal Shakes Summer Conservatory. Mr. Maier currently serves as Vice President of Dueling Arts International and is a founding member of Dueling Arts San Francisco. He is a member of Actors Equity Association and the American Guild of Musical Artists.

Deb Leamy

Deb Leamy has performed on Broadway in Never Gonna Dance, Sweet Smell of Success and the Tony-winning musical Fosse, for which she was an original cast member. She has played numerous roles in regional theatre and national / international tours, among them Roxie & Mona in Chicago, Rosie in Bye, Bye Birdie, Lois in Kiss Me Kate, and Maggie/Cassie in A Chorus Line. She has also served as choreographer/director for productions of the musicals Pippin, My Way and Grease as well as various cabarets, benefits and revues across the country. Most recently, she helmed the inaugural AIDS benefit, Broadway Bares SF: Tech Tails, in San Francisco.

Lisa Marie Rollins

Lisa Marie Rollins is playwright, poet, freelance director and dramaturg. Her acclaimed solo play, Ungrateful Daughter: One Black Girl’s Story of Being Adopted by a White Family…That Aren’t Celebrities has been performed in festivals, universities and academic conferences across the US. Most recently she co-directed Young Jean Lee’s The Shipment (Crowded Fire Theater) and a reading of Tearrance Chisholm’s Br’er Cotton (Playwrights Foundation).

As a poet, Lisa Marie's writing has been published in Other Tongues: Mixed-Race Women Speak Out, River, Blood, Corn Literary Journal, Line/Break, As/Us Literary Journal, The Pacific Review and others. She was Poet in Residence at June Jordan’s Poetry for the People at U.C. Berkeley, and a CALLALOO Journal London Writing Workshop Fellow. Her new collection of poems, Compass, received the 2016 Mary Tanenbaum Literary Award from SF Foundation. Lisa Marie is a Lecturer in San Francisco State's Department of Race and Resistance Studies, and a Resident Artist with Crowded Fire Theater. She holds degrees from The Claremont Graduate University and UC Berkeley.

Jesse Sanchez

Jesse Sanchez is an award-winning conductor, performer, and teaching artist. He was recently appointed Resident Music Director at West Valley Light Opera in Saratoga CA, where his credits include Footloose, Dames at Sea, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Irene, and The Boyfriend. Other Bay Area productions include Wild Goose Dreams (SF Playwrights), Singing In The Rain (WHS), My Fair Lady (BBB), In The Heights (SCU), and Footloose (SCU). He has also served as music director for the Santa Clara University Theatre and Dance Department.

As a professional musician, Jesse has shared the stage with Natalie Cole,Tower of Power, Brubeck Brothers Paquito D’Rivera, and Terrell Stafford, among others. Recent honors include 2017 Carnegie Hall Guest Conductor, 2016 NCBA Band Director of the Year, and 2015 Comcast Bay Area All-Star Teacher Of The Year finalist. Jesse trained at University of Idaho's Lionel Hampton School of Music, earning a BM in Music Education (vocal and instrumental pedagogy).

During the senior year, each theatre major works with a faculty mentor on a year-long capstone project. This individualized project engages students in a deep creative or scholarly investigation, tailored to their own talents and interests like playwriting, directing, and performing. Check out what students are working on.